“Oh, I always forget you guys don’t know everything I do. It’s a shame. It would be awesome if everybody got to live in both time periods. I’m pretty lucky, I guess. You know what is cool though? At least you guys know about the magic, so I can talk about it without you looking at me like I’m crazy.”
Adwen laughed and sat back for the explanation. “Aye, ’tis right. So tell us, what is a movie?”
“Hard to explain really. It’s kind of something you have to see. It’s sort of like if a whole bunch of paintings were strung together and they moved and spoke and they told a story that you could watch by staring at a piece of glass.”
Adwen knew magic existed, but he couldn’t imagine anything as strange as that.
“Ah. Aye, I suppose it must be seen with one’s own eyes.” Adwen stood and went to grab another bucket, knife, and fish from the large pile still waiting to be gutted. If he was there, the least he could do was help.
“Yeah, it really is. Anyway,” Cooper paused and pointed the end of his knife in Orick’s direction, “back to the ghosts.”
“What of them?”
“I don’t think they’re ghosts at all. You said they were dressed real funny, right? Can you try to describe it to me? And maybe try to do a better job than I did telling you guys about movies.”
Adwen glanced up at Orick from his work, just as curious as Cooper to hear Orick’s answer. It was the second mention Adwen had heard about the ghosts’ strange manner of dress. He’d thought nothing of it at Griffith’s first mention, but if Orick had experienced the same thing, it certainly piqued his curiosity.
“Ach, well, I am no a storyteller, but I’ll do my best. They all seem to dress strangely, and I’ve seen many of them. The first lass, I couldna believe my eyes, she wasna in a dress but...think of a kilt but a wee bit shorter and tighter with fabric in between the legs. ’Tis what she wore to cover her bottom. I’ll tell ye, ’tis truly about all it covered on the lass.”
Adwen turned his attention to Cooper as the boy laughed, interrupting Orick.
“Yeah, those definitely aren’t ghosts. The girl was wearing shorts, but that’s okay, keep going.”
It took Orick a moment to regain his train of thought while both Adwen and Cooper waited patiently.
“On top, she wore a shirt with no sleeves that hung loosely over her bottoms. And I shouldna be saying this to a child, but she dinna wear any under dressings. I could see her breasts right through the fabric of her top.”
“Were the other ladies dressed kind of the same way?”
Orick nodded. “Aye, two of the lassies I’ve seen wore bottoms that covered their legs, but the fabric lay right against the skin, going up and in between their legs in an albeit fetching but shocking fashion.”
For the first time, Cooper released his fish, laying it on top of the innards that lay at the bottom of the bucket before setting down his knife and moving to clean his hands. Whatever he meant to say, Adwen could tell that the boy was very serious about it.
“Orick. Adwen. I really don’t think there are ghosts in Cagair Castle.”
“Ach, I swear to ye lad. If they werena ghosts, then I doona know what a ghost is. Manner of dress aside, they were the very embodiment of spirits left to roam—one moment here and the next nowhere to be found.”
Adwen watched as Orick shook his head, obviously hesitant to believe that his eyes had been wrong.
Adwen spoke up, eager to hear Cooper’s meaning, “If they arena ghosts, then what are they?”
“Well, I don’t know what you’d call them, but ghosts are spirits of the dead, right?”
Both he and Orick nodded so that Cooper would continue.
“The way those ladies are dressed is just how ladies dress in the time I was born. That’s in the future, so they couldn’t be dead. If it was spirits of dead people, they’d be dressed like ladies do now, right?”
Adwen couldn’t deny the child’s logic. He didn’t know if he’d ever seen a child so smart. “Aye, ’twould only seem fitting. So what do ye mean, lad?”
Cooper crossed his arms and sat back down on his stool. “I’m not sure. I can only guess.”
“Then tell us.” Both he and Orick sat riveted with curiosity.
“Maybe you guys are just seeing little flashes of things that are happening at the same time, but in the future.”
Orick sailed from his seat, smiling and pointing a pleased finger in Cooper’s direction. “Why, Adwen, I think the lad must be right. There was once when I saw one, near the bottom stairwell, and I tried to speak to the lass. I swore that for a brief moment she twisted her head like she heard me, but before she could speak, she disappeared.”
“Yeah, exactly.” Now, Cooper stood, both excited by their discovery. “And I bet that means there’s a portal somewhere that connects the two times together.”